The Bowling Pavilion, Pergolas and Garden Walls at the Black Horse public house, Northfield

A series of public house garden buildings which surround a crown green bowling green, laid out in 1929-30 to the designs of Francis Goldsborough of Bateman and Bateman.

MATERIALS: the walls and pergola columns are of Cotswold stone rubble. Pergola lintels are of pebble-faced concrete. The pavilion has Cotswold stone walling and a plain tiled roof.

PLAN: to the north, south and east sides of the garden are boundary walls. The area immediately to the west of the pub is a terrace with flagged surface and this is divided from the bowling green by a screen of pergola posts which extend for the length of the west front. The pavilion is placed at the centre of the west side of the green and has a ground floor with bar counters at either end, kitchens and lavatories, and a beer cellar. To its east, bordering the green, is a further run of pergola posts.

DESCRIPTION Boundary walls: the wall to the north is divided into bays by square buttresses which have ashlar caps. The southern wall has panels of wooden fencing to its top and a double gate approached by steps at its eastern end. It acts as a retaining wall to the raised bowling green and is taller on its southern side as a result of the natural gradient. The eastern wall abuts the south end of the pub building and has a round-arched entrance which now has a wooden gate, but originally had a wrought-iron gate, which is stored on site.

Pergolas: the pergola posts along the east side of the green have lost their lintels. Those to the west, in front of the pavilion, have paired lintels of pebble-faced concrete. Both sets have moulded, ashlar caps.

Bowling Pavilion: EXTERIOR: the pavilion has a hipped roof and a recessed centre with five bays, divided by square, wooden posts. The central three bays have glazed, double doors and the two lateral bays have windows to their upper bodies. Projecting at either side are shallow wings with stone walling and three-light casements. To either flank are doors to outside lavatories. INTERIOR: the central room has a segmental barrel-vaulted plaster ceiling. There are bar counters to the northern and southern ends of the room, for serving beer or tea and coffee, and there is a continuous, fixed bench seat along the western wall, above which are fixed honours boards.